Skyrim complete PC crashes

[Sharis]

Just an update in my case: My problem IS the hardware, but my problem is a little different. I'm not getting the black screen, my screen is like this:

 

http://voidhunger.borec.cz/freeze.jpg

 

So i gave up on Skyrim and started to play other games: Mass Effect 1, Crysis 2, The Witcher 2 and the freezing continued with all of them. So i think that the problem was related to the 3D games and tryed a less demanding game: Magic - Planeswalkers 2012. I can run this game without problem and that confirmed my GTX 280 problem. I searched, and a lot of people with the 200 and 400 series are reporting this problem. My card have almost 3 years use and no more warranty. So i changed my hardware and this week i will receive my new hardware and the first game that i will test is Skyrim. If the problem persist or get solved, i post the results here.

 

I had this exact screen with an asus g73. I realized it was appearing in other games after a while. It could be a gray screen of death. Don't know what your system is, but for mine the fixes are flashing your bios (which can potentially fry your system), or, switching to the stock asus drivers. I switched back to the stock drivers and don't get any gray screen freezes. Hope this helps...

 

Oops - nm, didn't read your system info, well maybe others have this problem too.

Edited February 23, 2012 by Sharis

[johad]

My bit of info, and i hope it prevents some people from destroying their computer.

 

I get either reboots or shutdowns only at skyrim and only with the latest patch. I get them with or without mods. They are random, after minutes, or after hours, indoors, outdoors, while looting, while standing while doing anything. I play skyrim since release and besides some crashes here and there, never had a reboot or shutdown. Never had a reboot from any software to be exact since my first 100mhz pentium I 17 years ago...Im an nvidia user and had the same version of drivers since november. I updated them recently and the reboots in skyrim are the same. Also not only i play other games as well which NEVER ever caused any reboot, but i also play those with OCed CPU and GPU unlike skyrim which i run at default speeds. Add the fact that im an electronics and networks engineer, and i fix computers for a living. So let me conclude

 

If you get REBOOTS or SHUTDOWNS (not freezes/crashes) only in skyrim, it's bethesda.

 

The solutions posted by some, are workarounds, countermeasures, not real solutions, for example changing some graphic settings might prevent the triggering of the reboot, but the trigger is there, and its bethesda. Thats why they work on some and not on others, thats why these reboots are not OS/fan speed/drivers/chipset/voltage/OC/mod/PSU specific. Bad programming can kill computers, it has happened before, its a fact, dont go nuts with your pc guts :)

 

EDIT: 12 hours of skyrim with no reboots so far. Used this http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=3211 which addresses a problem bethesda is supposed to have patched already (have they? and how bug free is it). I for one dont understand why make a software with a ram limitation like that and not let the OS handle it. The software issues a loop command to the cpu with a condition to stop. The cache holds the ram addresses to repeat those commands. Then the cache recalls them, the loop is there, the condition to stop is there, but the software blocks the stop condition as it suddenly decides its stored outside the boundaries of the 2GB. Cpu accepts the loop and loops infinitely. And the fail safe design of the cpu auto shuts it down to prevent it from turning into a boiler. No blue screen, no freeze, no CTD, just cpu off, plain and simple. This is just a scenario of the hundreds that can turn a cpu off cause of software. Change your hardware, bios settings, OS settings, a couple dll's and you might reduce the chance of this happening. But the problem is still there. Im sure bethesda is aware of this but dont expect them to admit it, as such things can toast computers. Just for historical reasons, same happened with sc2, not long ago, with an uncapped frame rate that fried some thousand GPUs

 

Hope this helps you out.

Edited February 27, 2012 by johad

[beudeuh]

My bit of info, and i hope it prevents some people from destroying their computer.

 

I get either reboots or shutdowns only at skyrim and only with the latest patch. I get them with or without mods. They are random, after minutes, or after hours, indoors, outdoors, while looting, while standing while doing anything. I play skyrim since release and besides some crashes here and there, never had a reboot or shutdown. Never had a reboot from any software to be exact since my first 100mhz pentium I 17 years ago...Im an nvidia user and had the same version of drivers since november. I updated them recently and the reboots in skyrim are the same. Also not only i play other games as well which NEVER ever caused any reboot, but i also play those with OCed CPU and GPU unlike skyrim which i run at default speeds. Add the fact that im an electronics and networks engineer, and i fix computers for a living. So let me conclude

 

If you get REBOOTS or SHUTDOWNS (not freezes/crashes) only in skyrim, it's bethesda.

 

The solutions posted by some, are workarounds, countermeasures, not real solutions, for example changing some graphic settings might prevent the triggering of the reboot, but the trigger is there, and its bethesda. Thats why they work on some and not on others, thats why these reboots are not OS/fan speed/drivers/chipset/voltage/OC/mod/PSU specific. Bad programming can kill computers, it has happened before, its a fact, dont go nuts with your pc guts :)

 

EDIT: 12 hours of skyrim with no reboots so far. Used this http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=3211 which addresses a problem bethesda is supposed to have patched already (have they? and how bug free is it). I for one dont understand why make a software with a ram limitation like that and not let the OS handle it. The software issues a loop command to the cpu with a condition to stop. The cache holds the ram addresses to repeat those commands. Then the cache recalls them, the loop is there, the condition to stop is there, but the software blocks the stop condition as it suddenly decides its stored outside the boundaries of the 2GB. Cpu accepts the loop and loops infinitely. And the fail safe design of the cpu auto shuts it down to prevent it from turning into a boiler. No blue screen, no freeze, no CTD, just cpu off, plain and simple. This is just a scenario of the hundreds that can turn a cpu off cause of software. Change your hardware, bios settings, OS settings, a couple dll's and you might reduce the chance of this happening. But the problem is still there. Im sure bethesda is aware of this but dont expect them to admit it, as such things can toast computers. Just for historical reasons, same happened with sc2, not long ago, with an uncapped frame rate that fried some thousand GPUs

 

Hope this helps you out.

 

So Bethesda lied to us when they released patch 1.4 (which supposedly addresses the 2gb limitation) ? And I'm guessing the mod you used required me to revert back to the previous patch as well ?

Also something unusual happened, when I played Skyrim yesterday windowed (I read that it prevents the crash, and it did) at lower resolution (1400*900ish) I did not crash at all for hooouuurrss. But today when I bump it larger to 1600*1050ish, my Skyrim crashed within minutes! Sheesh Bethesda... I love you but I hate you

[Althis002]

Hello there, same issue here.

 

Having shutdowns/restarts every time I run skyrim on this computer.

My rig:

Intel core i5 2500k

Z68MA-D2H-B3 GigaByte Motherboard

Nvidia Geforce GTX560ti

Windows 7 Professional x64

8 GB ram

 

No overclock, brand new PC. Skyrim is the first game I'm trying to run after assembled.

Made sure that have all the drivers up to date and the latest version of skyrim. Its not a problem with the power supply either, of that I'm absolutely sure.

 

The difference between my problem and others is that it is completely reliable and not random by any means. The game always crashes after creating a new game, on the exact second the screen should fade in to the game. Always like that, and always a complete shutdown, no sound, no orange screen, no nothing.

 

If anyone have worked a solution in similar conditions to mine, I'd love to hear about it.

 

Thanks. Althis Megas.

[johad]

@beudeuh this 4gb fix can be applied to the latest patch (just make sure it is actually applied, you'll see the .bak file created when it is). It's not about lying from bethesda side, maybe they did it wrong. And i think this fan made 4gb patch isnt actually only 4gb but unlimited depending on OS. Anyways there are so many parameters involved that we cant tell for sure, but when troubleshooting in my work, we start by identifying whos fault it is NOT, to minimize the possible causes. And i can say for sure that in my case and many others (not all), it is NOT the hardware. It's bethesda. Thats the only thing i can say with 100% certainty. And im not all out against bethesda, last patch gave me a fps increase and if it wasnt an amazing game i wouldnt be here would i?

 

@althis does a save game work? you can get a save game from the nexus mod section. Do other games work fine? (spider solitaire doesnt count as a game :P ) . Did you try different graphics settings? Did you try reinstalling skyrim? You must make absolutely sure its skyrim specific through extended usage of your computer with various programs cause if its not i can think of countless hardware reasons that can completely shut down the computer

Edited February 27, 2012 by johad

[shadow56]

Try to go back to patch 1.3.10 and walla problems are solved.

[johad]

i'll resume the solution after 12 hours of testing with a clear install of 1.4 and after 16 hours with mods, with zero crashes, reboots, shutdowns etc. I used this http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=3211 It couldnt be applied initially so this is what i did. Antivirus off, then run skyrim, then patch with skyrim running. The 4gb patches sees that tesv.exe is already used, keep the patcher open, exit skyrim, retry to patch, patch succesfull, tesv.exe.bak created succesfully.

 

Im using

 

a core duo 2,66GHz E6750 on a socket 775 asus p5k permium motherboard

6gb pc-3200 ram

nvidia gts 250 (1gb ram) running at 1920x1080x32

windows 7 64bit

running skyrim with 26 mods enabled, some using scripts, many created with CK. Also some 2k retextures on high settings.

 

What did not help. (solutions posted already in these 140 pages)

1)Changing sound input channels 2,4,6,8. and sound quality

2)Changed AA, AF, FXAA, display drivers

3)Removed all mods, clear install, clear start game, used alternative dlls, used ENB series dlls

4)Underclocked my cpu from 3,2 to 2, underclocked my FSB from 400 to 333, changed the multiplier, played with spread spectrum

5)Underclocked my gpu

 

These did nothing. Plus i had no such reboots/shutdowns ever, less alone since release till 1.3

It started on 1.4 exclusively.

 

Make sure that you belong to the REBOOT/SHUTDOWN and only at skyrim/no other demanding game category

Let everyone know if that 4gb patcher helps you

[tekel2959]

I have been having abrupt CTD's and lockups constantly since 1.4, mostly opening containers, map, or loading a new cell or saving. I hardly ever finsh a dungeon run without it happening.

 

I have a 3.0ghz dual core running XP with max ram.

I started with a GTX9600 512MB running medium then low.

I upgraded to a 550 Ti 2048MB running high, medium then low with NO changes to crash frequency.

I tried the /3GB large mem switch with both cards and my machine was not happy with either.

 

I have always played with SkyUI ( and SKSE )

Having to play without SKSE last night after the patch was enlightening.

I ran all my mods ( ~30) except SKSE, and played several hours with ZERO crashes. That has NEVER happened.

 

I have to say I am pretty convinced, but your mileage may vary. Pretty simple to test...

[tekel2959]

2nd night playing without SKSE and still no crashes.

 

I am starting to get fond of the "No SKSE" warning box that SkyUI now gives me, far better than the constant crashes.

 

 

I have been having abrupt CTD's and lockups constantly since 1.4, mostly opening containers, map, or loading a new cell or saving. I hardly ever finsh a dungeon run without it happening.

 

I have a 3.0ghz dual core running XP with max ram.

I started with a GTX9600 512MB running medium then low.

I upgraded to a 550 Ti 2048MB running high, medium then low with NO changes to crash frequency.

I tried the /3GB large mem switch with both cards and my machine was not happy with either.

 

I have always played with SkyUI ( and SKSE )

Having to play without SKSE last night after the patch was enlightening.

I ran all my mods ( ~30) except SKSE, and played several hours with ZERO crashes. That has NEVER happened.

 

I have to say I am pretty convinced, but your mileage may vary. Pretty simple to test...

[RyviusRan]

I seem to get the crashes only when going to Whiterun from Riverwood or Riverwood to Whiterun.

It can be from walking or fast traveling but it always crashes.

When walking it crashes when I get a certain distance to either town.

 

Everything other place loads fine with no crash.

 

 

Edit: nevermind the crash it caused by the RAM usage going past 1.7gigs.

 

I am using the latest patch so it should have the 4gb fix in it......

Edited March 4, 2012 by RyviusRan